American Idol Almost over!!!!!

Ok. Let's get it out of the way, I am not a fan anymore. I was, but American Idol lost their touch somewhere around Clay Aiken. He was a true success story and so was his skinny black friend Reuben Studdard. By the way, Reuben's album "The Return" is really good.

Normally, I would be all for a crazy quirk like the songwriting contest. But it has killed the shows momentum in the final stages. Lackluster songs, performed lucklusterly. I even put one in a few years ago and was privy to inside information as I have a friend that works with some of the people that works with the THE people. All hush hush stuff.

First: There was a submission fee, which should always be seen with a critical eye in the music business. It is the stuff of songsharks.
Second: They could not have possibly listened to every submission. They used HSS (another story).
Third: It was painfully apparent that favorites were played and the song that made it was not a homegrown product.

So, KILL the songwriter portion of the show- GAIN those 7 million of us you lost and PAY Diane Warren for the song you need, Simple.

Think you had a bad week?

A Breckenridge man, who builds custom homes, was suffering from headaches and dizziness after an accident with a nail gun on a job site. He thought the nail gun had malfunctioned and popped him in the mouth.
"The nail gun had recoiled, and it must have recoiled at a high turbulence, flipped 180 degrees and somehow shot or angled the nail through the front of my lip," Lawler said. "For six days we were icing it and taking Advil, thinking I got hit real hard, like a punch."

Well, kinda. After going to the dentist and getting x-rays for a supposed toothache, his wife called him with the news: "There's a nail inside your brain." The 3 1/4-inch nail entered through his upper right lip lodgingjust inside the front part of his brain. It missed his right eye by millimeters. Here's the rub, this was SIX days later. He had been walking around with a nail lodged in his head for six days.

Maybe I have brain freeze, but I haven't had any Kwik-e-Mart Squishys. Hmmmm.
What the hell is that ringing noise?
Please turn off the microwave, my teeth are rattling.
Honey, everything I eat tastes a little like metal.

Doctors at a local Littleton hospital thankfully and dumbfoundedly have experience with this. Believe it or not, this is not the first time a man has unknowingly had a nail lodged in his head and come in for treatment. "This is the second one we've seen in this hospital where the person was injured by the nail gun and didn't actually realize the nail had been imbedded in their skull," said Dr. Sean Markey. "But it's a pretty rare injury."

A team of surgeons performed brain surgery and were able to take the nail out without brain damage or loss of sight. A difficult task indeed, of course maybe that wouldn't have mattered that much concerning this guy.

After recovery, Patrick Lawler commented on his ordeal: "It definitely makes one think about a profession change, you know? I don't know. I might use a smaller (nail) gun.
"Or maybe I'll stick to hammers."

Patrick, you can have mine man!

Are you a Terrorist?

A confidential seven-page threat assessment issued last week by the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Justice said, "There is no credible information indicating that domestic or international terrorist groups are targeting the inauguration." But the assessment added that al Qaeda could make "a strategic decision to show that it has the ability to disrupt the American democratic process," according to a copy obtained by The Washington Post.

Read that statement again. Notice that the assessment includes Domestic Terrorists. Notice that it invokes the dreaded name of al Qaeda and the caviat "they could make a strategic decision to disrupt." Boogey Boogey scary scary. What the hell is the matter with this country?
Can you not see the propoganda in this? Unfortunately they messed up and now admitting that they are target domestic persons and groups. What does targeting mean? How about someone turning their back on the president as his motorcade drives by? Notice that these people are being investigated in the same way that al Qaeda is.

Now do you understand what the Patriot Act means?

If you were to protest this election, this inauguration, you would be labelled as someone trying to disrupt our democracy.
Are you a terrorist?
Are they?
Are we?

Why Bush, Why?

First, I am not still bitter about the election. I have gotten over it. But, let me remind oyu of something I wrote a few months back. "Mark my words, this will not end with Iraq. Iran is next and so is North Korea. Watch out for a Syrian/Saudi invasion."

Perhaps people who didn't vote will now find regret when they see what is going to happen. Sy Hersh will be releasing his interviews this week of inside officials detailing the plans to attack Iran. Civilian leadership (Rummy) will lead the fight with covert ops and those who can operate above or below the law. They will scout and then plot nuclear centers and military installations. By this summer we will attack. You will also see an attack from the U.S. in Southeast Asia. Did you really think all of our boys are over there just for Tsunami relief? Quick jumping off point eh?

When a President makes statements about war; he means it. They mean killing, expansive operations and covert missions. They mean propaganda, they mean psyops. When you see a story on the news, remember we are war. When you see every story about the impending terror attacks, (for the last 3 years there has not been one) , remember we are at war. In war, a country must do everything in it's power to win. Fool it's own people, fool the world, foil plans and turn minds and hearts. Part of that is propaganda. Part of that is law reform-Patriot Act 1&2.

When you hear of a Global War, the pressure gets hotter. That is when you see geopolitical solutions taking place. Putin closes Russia's doors (media), folds it's largest oil company and then cuts a multi-national deal to finish a pipeline from Afghanistan. Countries start playing Nuclear show and no-tell; N. Korea, Iran, India, Pakistan etc. Where is the U.S.? Oh, we have started manufacturing our own Nuclear weapons. All that Reagan did to foil the cold war is now worthless.

How about Palestine and Israel? We would like to say we want peace, but do we? Do we really want a strong economy right next to Israel? Do we really want Israel to be a cohabitator in the region? If Israel were left on her own, she would have no problem going to war with America. That is just true. They are friends just like any other Country, as long as it benefits them.
So, the attacks in Gaza will continue. No real peace agreement can be met while we are in the area of Babylon. All the work Clinton has done is wipied away.

Perhaps these men have a sight that outreaches generations. Perhaps they have crunched the numbers and know that in 15 years the U.S. dollar will be weaker than any currency in the world. Our exports will continue to decrease and our imports will continue to flourish. Our military will not be able to match man for man with any other country. India: 30% more soldiers today. China 65% more soldiers. Russia 60% more soldiers. We have no shot at a traditional war. So, here we go again with Nuclear Proliferation. Here we go again with Covert ops that cause harsh outcomes in fundamentalist countries. Do you think the Muslims of Iran and going to greet us with flowers. About as many as did in Iraq I'm sure. Only these flowers come in a militant hand with a jacket full of explosives and he's at the Green Zone.

But we will do this. It is happening right now. The administration feels they got the green light with the election. You fucking Christians and gay bashers thought you were proving a moral point. Wrong. He sees it as an acceptance at what we have done and are going to do. I'm sorry, I wish you who voted for Bush in a Zealous rush of "morality" would read about Jesus more and what he said. Pray for yourselves, and leave the world alone. Let, oh I don't know, maybe God to deal with it.

Why would you Bush? Seriously, you are wrong and there is another way. I wish you would consider your country more so than your legacy.

Ashlee Simpson (joke implied)

Orange Bowl: January, 5th '05. 76,000 football fans boo her when she walks on stage and Boo her when she finishes butchering the song she was HIRED to perform. My god, there is so much material here I don't know where to start. Take a look at the video from this fantastic slam site.
First, I do not blame Ashlee. I did, but now the fault rests squarely on her child abusing father; Joe Simpson. This is the problem with America today. Too many people are told they can sing. Just watch an episode of American Idol and you will see a bevy of talentless hopefuls who strongly disagree with the notion that they plainly suck. Then you see their Moms acting supportive and fighting for their honor. Puuhlezee stop it! Have a shirley temple and wait for your name to be called by the Karaoke Ringmaster and be satisfied with the hail of drunken claps you get.

Joe Simpson, be a dad. Take your money, smile and let your broken little girl go. Let her resume her acting career. Let her go to college and be a normal girl. She is not talented and I know you are not that stupid to think she is. If money were not involved in this, we would never be talking about this. You are a child abuser and should be ashamed Mr Simpson, and I don't mean Nick Lachey.

Somewhere before this fiasco (which followed SNL and the Billboard suck-job) there was a meeting with Orange Bowl officials and Joe Simpson. He sat there, contract in hand, and sold her knowing full well she was not going to be able to perform professionally. Perhaps he was still high from the crack he was smoking while he booked her upcoming 20-some-odd date tour. A tour? Are you Fucking kidding me? Is there any footage, anywhere of a knock out performance by her? Nope. I have seem them all. Even when she is lipsyncing, she can't dance, she looks awkward on stage and has a attitude more suited for a high school production.

Now, I am in the industry so this may piss me off personally more than you. I don't mind pop music for money. Really I don't. Do your little MTV show, sell your 2 million copies and laugh as the little girls in Pensacola wait in line for 3 hours at the Virgin Megastore just to listen to a taped recording and get a signed bumper sticker. Do that. But lay off the real stuff. The SNL slot. The Billboard Awards. The halftime shows. Let the pros do that. Let people who live this do that.

Last word: Joe Simpson, you greedy bastard. You brilliant s.o.b. While I abhor what you have done to your daughter's psyche, I am thoroughly impressed with your ability to dupe pretty much everyone in the United States. The fact that she got the Orange Bowl gig AFTER the SNL thing is a testament to your Godlike negotiation skills and your ability to wield Obi-Wan type Mojo force mind powers. "She will play the Orange Bowl, you saw nothing, you heard nothing." Waving his hand. So, my point here is: use those abilities for good, Joe.
Find a good artist-not named Simpson. Hmmmm, I don't know, maybe me.

Email me Joe, let's do lunch. I'll be in L.A. in May. Thanks.

Smoke em' if ya got em'!

I am absolutely the last person you want to talk to about smoking. When I was 20, I was involved with an Pro smoking group. How many people do you know that do that? True, I love smoking (I also like smoking cigarettes... hee hee). What I was concerned with, at the time, was the prevalence of smoking prohibition laws and activism. This was before there were any cities that outlawed smoking. The group I belonged to didn't have a militant stance, it was simply asking for an area where smokers could do their thing. It didn't work. Why? Smokers don't vote. Young people don't vote. Partiers don't vote.

It's the new year and I know of scores of people who are quitting smoking. I think that is a good thing in general. However, it seems most people are thinking about their grandparents, the elderly generation and what smoking did to them. You know, the oxygen tank placed squarely next to the coffee table adorned with a nicotene discolored tablecloth littered with ashtrays and coffee stains. True, that is disgusting. But, my grandparents smoked 2 packs a day. I'm sure yours did too. My grandpa smoked non-filters most of his life and certainly did not live a physically active lifestlye. I don't smoke that much and have always been able to be physically active without wheezing. Keep in mind that the past generations lived in and fought in wars. They didn't eat healthy, they didn't relax like we do and they certainly were less aware of their bodies and mind.
I am not advocating smoking and I am not paid by Phillip Morris. (unless you're offering, I'll take payment in Medium 100's) All I am saying is that it is a crapshoot. Reggie White, an athelete his whole life, just died at 43-non smoker. Jack Paar (84), Tony Randall (87), Isabel Sanford (86) and Rodney Dangerfield (82) all smokers. The question is this: what is an acceptable age of death to you? These were all people who worked well into their 80's and lead full lives. Sex, careers, accolades. They weren't in diapers, they weren't carrying around oxygen tanks. Tony Randall walked 4 miles a day. Jack Paar played tennis the week before he died.
Of course, there are people who get sick- cancer, stroke, heart failure etc from smoking. There are also people who get those very ailments who have never smoked.

Someday I will quit. But I do not loathe smoking. I enjoy it. I don't even smoke a pack a day. Maybe 10 or so. And according to Quitnet, if I quit, I would only shave off 1-1/2 years of my impending doom. You know what, I think the world can have that last year of 85 for me. I really won't need it then.

So, to all of you who have gone down the quit road, I wish you well. I will certainly sit in non-smoking with you. I will not smoke in my car while you get a ride. I support your decision, and wish you all the luck in the world.
Anyone got a light?

Why is God Angry?

You might not like this, but I have to add to the discussion on the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Of course it is a tragedy, of course it is absolutely heart-wrenching and my spirit mourns those who have left this world and wish them a light journey. I have had trouble thinking: "What can I say about this." The stories of tragedy have been covered as have the stories of heroism. Inevitably, the Cable News Networks found a Super Model who 'barely' escaped from her luxury cabana. Nice touch. In their defense, there has not been a catchphrase associated with this...yet. All of the news organizations are just calling it (rather blandly, but appropriately) "the earthquake-tsunami disaster. " That makes me happy in a sick anti-marketing way.

Here is my take: there was a lovely old lady (Panja) being interviewed by MSNBC and she was screaming "Why is God angry with us? What did we do? Why would He do this to us?" Something to that effect.

Here's the facts: Currently there are 117,000 confirmed dead (there will be more). This Tsunami affected 11 Countries and took the lives and souls of Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Tribesmen, Christians and Jews. It was indiscriminate. In today's climate of religious unrest confronting America so deeply, but a mainstay worldwide, I would hope that this sort of tragedy convinces people to question their faith. Not to abandon it neccessarily, but to question what role it has in today's world. What role does deep faith in a benevolent or spiteful God have today? What is the impact of your faith clashing so deeply with others' belief systems?

The Muslims believe this is a reminder that God controls all that we do and we should work to win His Favor. The Jews believe this is countenance for evil and sin. Same with the Hindus. Christians, where are you on this? I wonder if Pat Robertson will have the balls to call the Indonesians "Faithless Sinners" who created their own doom by denying Jesus Christ as their savior. (For those of you unfamiliar, this is his view of people with A.I.D.S- Children included)
Those who worship the earth believe it to be Mother Nature balancing herself naturally. Sorry, that is just as ridiculous in reality; otherwise Rainforests would reforest themselves.

Ask yourself: Do I really believe that God created an earthquake to cause a Tsunami to kill these people? Could a God do this? What about people who are doing good in this world? Does God provide the missionaries with rain in a desert? Let's go further. Why can't God create money or food? If there is an entity that can mobilize 100's of millions of tons of raw earth material to heat up in a gaseous environment and move plates of the earth under eachother therefore causing an Earthquake which rocks this entire planet off of it's axis; why can't he/she create money and give it to people. Why couldn't there be a car appearing in someone's driveway after a grandmother gave her kidney to a stranger and saved her life? Contrarians would say it is because "that is not natural." You mean to tell me your mighty and powerful God can't do something. Hmmmm. Might want to question that belief.

Christians will tell you it's the Devil. Nice try. Once again, God is that weak and weak-willed as to not save people (of any faith)? I would totally believe if I saw a monster Deity War between Good and Bad. But, that is not the case. Let's try this one:

We live on a planet that has physical properties which work as a mechanism to sustain growth and recycle itself. No insideous motive, it just is. By the way, "man" did not cause this in nature either. There were no greenhouse gases involved or deforestation. So, all you tree-huggers sit down and meditate. Perhaps "man" should not have built paradises in paradise. It just is. Why is that not goood enough?
People of religion scoff at those who are not like minded; calling them selfish and overly egotistical. When in reality, what I am trying to explain to you is far more stunning, faith-based and with no regard for my own self-importance. My answer is this.

It just is. That's all. No reason. "But wait, there has to be a re..............."NO! There is not. It just is. It is a tragedy and all the prayer in the world to all of your Gods will not bring them back.
All your prayer will not bury the dead. Where is your God now? Will he bury the dead so that young innocent children do not die in the next few days. I wish. But he won't. But there are lessons. There are always lessons. They are different for you and me and the lovely old Panja.
There are lessons for Governments and scientists and geologists and so on. Those are humans and of all walks of faith. So, please reckon this with your God. Ask the hard questions. Ask if God is going to create a miracle of equal importance and impact for the positive? If you pray on it and it turns out that God is wiping clean evil in a spiteful way; I'd say it's time to find a new God. And if that pisses you off, don't waste your prayers on my soul and such; pray for the survivors and those who are trying to help them.

Another word here: This is going to get more tragic as time rolls on. This will affect that region and it's people for decades. Motherless children, fatherless children, Families split and ruined. Houses, businesses and livlihoods ruined forever. They will recover, they will be strong. But, mark my words, America will forget within a month. Re-read this post a month from now and it will strike you as weird. Do you remember the Iran Earthquake earlier this year? It killed over 40,000 people. I bet a dollar you do not. Most of America does not. After all Martha Stewart is important. (that's what knocked it out of the news cycle)

What you can do is send a donation. Or help how you can. Listed below are some sources I am using.

List of relief Efforts: Help List

Network for Good
Red Cross

Thanks for reading and do what you can

DO NOT READ THIS.

I warn you, this post will be under investigation. Ever wonder how the Patriot Act and it's sister number 2 has or will affect you? Well, here ya go. The FBI has a program called Carnivore that searches internet and email traffic for "buzz words." This is the one we know of, there must be many other such programs circulating. It is a direct offense to your civil liberties and we will discuss why below.
If you were on AOL in the early 90's you must remember their crackdown on pornographic material. They installed a program that searched for "dirty" conversations and material. IT would search for kid and sex in the same sentence. It babnned the word pussy and many other supposed 'curse' words. All of this is the name of over-protective parents worried about their kids. (Apparently just good parenting doesn't work anymore.) Well, what happened was curious. Somehow, the Breast Cancer Survivors group got shut down. For using the word breast, self-examination, nipple and others, this great support group was shut down. The very thing the internet is good for: bringing people together across the world, providing support and information to all for relatively fee and giving that much needed interaction; was all wiped out. By the way, 'pussy' prevented the Arbor association from net meeting because of the pussy willow tree. It took a fight and some time to get it reversed, but there was no apology, there was no recant. Just a woops.

Now, concerning the war on Iraq, Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, Zarqawi, Al Sistani and the notes they video and post. Where does the news quote from? "Today, Bin Laden released a statement through a militant website stating that: blah blah blah..." What the hell does that mean? What was the website? Has it been verified? Why can't I see it? When was it posted? This is where it is dangerous to read further. So, Stop now.

I am a researcher of all things. I enjoy knowledge. I like to read, for myself, what has been said or written. Not the capsulized version the news gives you. Well, if I wanted to find that website, I would fall under the Patriot Act statute. The company line is: "Why would a good American want to see that site, that video, that statement. It's propaganda! If you want to find the beheading video, you must be interested in their cuase. " And therefore: you are under scrutiny.
This is the America we live in today. Do not be fooled and do not listen to those who say that our government wouldn't do that. We can't get a completely verified figure, but as of last Septmeber there were no less than 230,000 American citizens who were "being examined closely-persons of interest." There have been 1,000's of Muslim/Arab Americans who were interrogated after 9/11. There are at least 660 illegal dtainees in Guantanamo right now without benefit of counsel and could be held indefinitely.
So, if you want to learn about Muslim traditions or the Arab plight or find yourself looking to brush up on some world events on your own (not cleared by the department of information), you might want to wait.
By reading this, you are in the carivore area. By writing this I have used at least 25 references that will ensure this gets read by somebody up there. Well, here is what I would like you to read. Give us freedom. We may help you. Give us our country back. You cannot win this war alone. You have proven that. Let some us learn and debate and help you shape a better world for everyone. Not just the U.S., but all citizens of the world.

It's sad. I am not proud to be an american today. If I am not here tomorrow, check Cuba.